Two goals in the last two minutes gave Chalfont a respectable margin of victory in a friendly match at Cressex on Saturday.
Mark Pearce, stepping forward from sweeper, provided the pass for David Galletly to fire Chalfont into a 7th minute lead but 4 minutes later, Birkbeck equalised with Navid Maan converting a penalty stroke, following a foul on Amin Maan, the former Lions player.
Chalfont, with Andy Watts playing a prominent role in his first match following a long injury, came back purposefully. Simon Shipley seized on a loose ball at a penalty corner and flicked Chalfont back into the lead in the 18th minute.
Birkbeck, despite being on the defensive for long periods, did have one excellent chance but John Ellis their captain, shot wide. With less than 2 minutes remaining, Shipley scored his second after Galletly had opened the Birkbeck defence and Neil Turner added the fourth from a penalty corner.
Chalfont : M Burge, M Pearce (Capt.), A Watts, D Dunford, C Blamey, N Turner, A Earnshaw, S Shipley, D Galletly, A Wertheim
There second half goals gave Chalfont a deserved victory in an open and exciting friendly match at Chalfont Park. Aldermaston for whom Peter Stickland and goalkeeper Phil Shewring defended resolutely, did well to contain Chalfont until the fourteenth minute of the second half when David Galletly deflected Alastair Wertheim's cross past Stickland. It was Galletly's first goal of the season having finished last year as the top scorer.
Four minutes later, Galletly turned provider and a quick touch by Simon Shipley set up Wertheim for Chalfont's second. Chalfont enjoyed increased dominance in which Andrew Earnshaw and Dave Dunford featured prominently and sealed the match five minutes from time when Shipley turned in Mark McCree's pass. The teams meet again in a fortnight in the Nastro Azzurro League.
M Burge, M Pearce (capt), D Doran, D Dunford, C Blamey, M McCree, A Earnshaw, S Shipley, N Turner, D Galletly, A Wertheim
Despite leading twice, Chalfont finished grateful for a share of the Nastro Azzurro league points when Phil Stewart touched in David Galletly's shot with eleven minutes remaining at Beaconsfield High School on Saturday.
Giles Payne, the Chalfont sweeper, making a rare excursion into the opposition circle, blasted his side into an 18th minute lead but Creightonians equalised 15 seconds before the interval. Mike Burge made an illegal save from terry Lansdowne's shot which took a vicious deflection and Dave Millard converted the penalty stroke.
A clinically struck penalty corner by Payne regained the lead for Chalfont in the third minute of the second half but Creightonains struck back within two minute, Dave Francis scoring after Paul Humprhries had created the opening. Francis turned provider for Creightonians third goal and MIllard's second.
Chalfont came back strongly with Mark McCree and Galletly stretching Creigtonians defence and two good chances fell to Stewart before he touched in the equaliser.
M Burge, G Payne, A Earnshaw, D Dunford, C Blamey, D Doran, M Pearce (Capt), S Shipley, N Turner, D Galletly, P Stewart Subs M McCree & A Wertheim.
League leaders Tring maintained their one hundred per cent record despite conceding two goals for the first time at Tring Sports Centre on Saturday.
Tring’s success has been founded on the arrival this year of Graham Cartmell, the RAF forward who last year was playing in the premier division of the National League with Guildford. It was Cartmell’s electric acceleration and unselfish distribution which undid Chalfont.
In a ten minute spell early in the first half Chalfont conceded four goals starting with a penalty stroke scored by Tring’s captain Chris Dixon and including two by Simon Cobby and a superlative effort by Cartmell.
After the break, Chalfont produced a brief flurry with Neil Turner slipping in a penalty corner rebound and although Dixon retaliated with a well struck penalty corner for Tring’s one hundredth goal of the year, Simon Shipley converted another corner for Chalfont.
With the match briefly swinging in Chalfont’s favour, Andrew Earnshaw hit a post before Tring finished with another corner conversion by Dixon and a seventh goal by Dave Mills with the final hit of the match.
Chalfont: M Burge, G Payne, P Stewart, A Earnshaw, C Blamey, M McCree, M Pearce, S Shipley, N Turner, P Colwill, A Wertheim. Sub D Dunford
It was a tough weekend for Chalfont’s men who also played High Wycombe, from the South Premier league, in the Bucks Cup at Cressex on Sunday.
Despite fighting a desperate rearguard defensive action in which Dave Dunford, Chris Blamey and goalkeeper Mike Burge were outstanding, Chalfont were down six goals by the interval. A brief revival during which Alastair Wertheim swept in Andrew Earnshaw’s cross for his first team goal was soon extinguished as Wycombe added another three.
Paul Brown scored four with further goals coming from Andrew Burroughs (Penalty stroke), Dave Ansdell, Simon Nokes, Arshad Khan and former Slough player Dominic Day.
Chalfont: M Burge, G Payne, A Earnshaw, D Dunford, C Blamey, D Doran, M Pearce, S Shipley, Gareth Bullock, A Wertheim. Sub Geoff Bullock